Canadian Airlines

Canadian Airlines International Ltd. (stylized as Canadi›n Airlines or Canadi‹n Airlines, or simply Canadian) was a Canadian airline that operated from 1987 until 2001. The airline was Canada's second largest airline after Air Canada, carrying more than 11.9 million passengers to over 160 destinations in 17 countries on five continents at its height in 1996. Canadian Airlines served 105 destinations in Canada, more than any other airline. Canadian Airlines was also a founding member of the Oneworld airline alliance.
Canadian Airlines was headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, and had revenue of approximately $3 billion at the end of 1999. The airline and its aircraft were acquired by Air Canada in 2000, and the merger was officially completed on January 1, 2001.
History
Canadian Airlines International was the principal subsidiary of its parent company Canadian Airlines Corporation. The new airline was formed on March 27, 1987, when Pacific Western Airlines purchased Canadian Pacific Air Lines (which operated as CP Air for a number of years), which in turn had recently acquired Eastern Provincial Airways and Nordair.
In 1989, Canadian Airlines acquired Wardair, giving them access to new routes including long-sought-after routes to the UK and Europe. Its major hubs were at Montréal-Dorval International Airport (now known as Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport), Toronto Pearson International Airport, Vancouver International Airport, and Calgary International Airport.
Canadian Airlines streamlined its operations and went through the financial restructuring of over $700 million in debt, after the 1991 airline industry slump. It was further aided by an injection of cash from the American Airlines Group.
On November 1, 1996, Kevin Benson, then president and CEO, unveiled a restructuring strategy to improve the profitability of Canadian Airlines International. The operational restructuring plan was supposed to be phased in over a four-year period, addressing the main issues of cost control, revenue growth, capitalization and fleet renewal. It was also one of the founding members of the Oneworld airline alliance, along with American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas. The plan started off well but with the Asian economic downturn in 1998, air traffic decreased and Canadian suffered heavy losses on previously profitable trans-Pacific routes.
Canadian Plus was the largest frequent flyer program in Canada with more than 60 airline, hotel, car rental, and financial partners worldwide. The program had more than three million members.
In its last few years of operation, Canadian Airlines extended its international route network in Asia, with the most recent expansion of service to the Philippines, which gave it seven destinations in Asia. At that time Canadian Airlines had the distinction of flying to more places in Asia with more frequency than any other Canadian carrier.
Canadian Airlines' core business strategy focused on building its Vancouver hub into the leading gateway between North America and Asia. It leveraged its codesharing agreement with American Airlines in order to help capture a greater share of U.S.-Asia traffic flows.
Onex bid and Air Canada takeover
On August 20, 1999, Air Canada proposed a financial offer to Canadian Airlines which would see Canadian's international routes and airport slots sold to Air Canada for an undisclosed amount. Canadian Airlines would be relegated to be a regional carrier providing a feeder network to Air Canada. This offer was rejected. This financial offer evolved from a merger proposal between Canadian Airlines and Air Canada which had been ongoing since early 1999.
The proposed merger was backed by American Airlines, who had already owned a 25% stake in Canadian Airlines, the maximum allowed under Canadian foreign ownership restrictions. Then-American CEO Donald J. Carty, who had formerly headed Canadian predecessor Canadian Pacific Air Lines, planned to acquire a controlling interest in the enlarged Air Canada, with the purpose of moving it from the Star Alliance to Oneworld alliance. American Airlines was unsuccessfully lobbying Canadian federal government to ease foreign ownership restrictions on Canadian airlines. Afterwards, American sold its shares in Air Canada as the company decided to change its corporate strategy regarding the Canadian aviation market.
Four days later, on August 24, 1999, Onex Corporation announced a takeover bid for Canadian Airlines, backed by American Airlines's parent company AMR Corporation, consisting of $1.8B in cash and the assumption of $3.9B in debt. Canadian Airlines announced that it would support this and recommend acceptance from its shareholders. Air Canada rejected the offer. On August 31, 1999, Air Canada adopted a poison pill aimed at thwarting any takeover bid.
On October 19, 1999, Air Canada, backed by Star Alliance partners Lufthansa, United Airlines and CIBC announced a $930M counter bid to the Onex offer. Air Canada offered $92M for Canadian Airlines and committed to running it as a separate company. On November 2, Air Canada increased its offer to $16 per share to buy back 36.4 percent of the airline.
On November 5, 1999, a Quebec judge ruled that the Onex takeover was illegal, breaking the law that stipulates that no more than 10 percent of the company can be controlled by a single shareholder. Onex subsequently withdrew its offer and Air Canada stated it would proceed with the takeover of Canadian Airlines.
On December 4, the board of directors at Canadian Airlines recommended the $92M merger offer from Air Canada to the shareholders. The offer from Air Canada originally expired at 5pm on December 7, 1999, but Air Canada extended their offer until December 23, 1999. Air Canada officially took control of Canadian Airlines, pending government approval, on December 8, 1999. The Federal Competition Bureau cleared the way for the takeover on December 21, 1999 and Canadian Airlines officially became a subsidiary of Air Canada on December 23, 1999.
Canadian Airlines operated as a subsidiary company through most of 2000. In October 2000, all of Canadian Airlines' systems and employees became fully integrated. With both companies fully integrated, Air Canada began massive cuts to employees starting with the announcement that there would be 3500 cuts in the workforce on December 22, 2000. September 26, 2001 saw an additional 5000 cuts primarily driven from the worldwide impact to the travel sector caused by the 9/11 attacks.
At the time of merger, Canadian Airlines carried over 40% of the domestic share of passengers in Canada. Following the completion of the acquisition, Air Canada controlled over 90% of the domestic share of passengers, and dominated international and US-Canada transborder traffic.
Internet presence
Canadian Airlines has the distinction of being the first airline in the world to have a website on the Internet (www.cdnair.ca). The website was launched in April 1994 and is recognized in the Canadian Internet Handbook 1994 and 1995 editions. It was given recognition for not only being the first airline website in the world but also the first with transactional capabilities such as flight arrival/departure and fare information. At the time, this fact was widely reported by Canadian media including CBC Venture and Maclean's Magazine. The website was created and credited to Grant Fengstad who at the time was leading a strategy to demonstrate that the Internet was going to revolutionize the travel sector.
Destinations
This is a list of airports that Canadian Airlines International flew to during the 1980s and 1990s until its demise.
Asia
East Asia
Beijing - Beijing Capital International Airport
Shanghai - Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport
Hong Kong International Airport (after 1998)
Kai Tak Airport (terminated due to airport closure in 1998)
Nagoya - Nagoya Komaki Airport
Tokyo - Narita International Airport
Taipei - Taoyuan International Airport
Southeast Asia
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur International Airport
Subang International Airport (before 1998)
Manila - Ninoy Aquino International Airport
Changi Airport
Bangkok - Don Mueang International Airport
Europe
Eastern Europe
Budapest - Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport
Moscow - Sheremetyevo International Airport
Northern Europe
Copenhagen - Copenhagen Airport
London
Gatwick Airport
Heathrow Airport
Manchester - Manchester Airport
Southern Europe
Milan - Milan Malpensa Airport
Rome - Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport
Western Europe
Paris - Charles de Gaulle Airport
Frankfurt - Frankfurt Airport
Munich
Munich Airport
Munich-Riem Airport (terminated due to airport closure)
Amsterdam - Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
Zürich - Zürich Airport
North America
Canada
Alberta
Calgary - Calgary International Airport (hub)
Edmonton
Edmonton City Centre Airport (terminated due to airport closure)
Edmonton International Airport
Fort McMurray - Fort McMurray International Airport
British Columbia
Campbell River - Campbell River Airport
Comox - Comox Airport
Kamloops - Kamloops Airport
Kelowna - Kelowna International Airport
Nanaimo - Nanaimo Airport
Penticton - Penticton Regional Airport
Prince George - Prince George Airport
Prince Rupert - Prince Rupert Airport
Sandspit - Sandspit Airport
Smithers - Smithers Airport
Terrace - Northwest Regional Airport Terrace-Kitimat
Vancouver - Vancouver International Airport (hub)
Victoria - Victoria International Airport
Manitoba
Churchill - Churchill Airport
Flin Flon - Flin Flon Airport
Gillam - Gillam Airport
The Pas - The Pas Airport
Thompson - Thompson Airport
Winnipeg - Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport
Newfoundland and Labrador
Deer Lake - Deer Lake Regional Airport
Gander - Gander International Airport
Goose Bay - Goose Bay Airport
Stephenville - Stephenville International Airport
St. John's - St. John's International Airport
Wabush - Wabush Airport
New Brunswick
Charlo - Charlo Airport
Fredericton - Greater Fredericton Airport
Moncton - Greater Moncton International Airport
Saint John - Saint John Airport
Northwest Territories
Fort Smith - Fort Smith Airport
Hay River - Hay River/Merlyn Carter Airport
Inuvik - Inuvik (Mike Zubko) Airport
Norman Wells - Norman Wells Airport
Yellowknife - Yellowknife Airport
Nova Scotia
Halifax - Halifax Stanfield International Airport
Sydney - JA Douglas McCurdy Sydney Airport
Nunavut
Cambridge Bay - Cambridge Bay Airport
Iqaluit - Iqaluit Airport
Nanisivik - Nanisivik Airport
Rankin Inlet - Rankin Inlet Airport
Resolute - Resolute Bay Airport
Ontario
Kingston - Kingston Norman Rogers Airport
London - London International Airport
Ottawa - Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport
Sault Ste. Marie - Sault Ste. Marie Airport
Sudbury - Sudbury Airport
Sarnia - Sarnia Chris Hadfield Airport
Thunder Bay - Thunder Bay International Airport
Toronto - Toronto Pearson International Airport (hub) (Terminal 3)
Windsor - Windsor Airport
Quebec
Bagotville - Bagotville Airport
Baie-Comeau - Baie-Comeau Airport
Kuujjuarapik - Kuujjuarapik Airport
Kuujjuaq - Kuujjuaq Airport
Montreal
Montréal–Mirabel International Airport
Montréal–Trudeau International Airport (hub)
Radisson - La Grande Rivière Airport
Sept-Îles - Sept-Îles Airport
Val-d'Or - Val-d'Or Airport
Saskatchewan
Regina - Regina International Airport
Saskatoon - John G. Diefenbaker International Airport
Prince Edward Island
Charlottetown - Charlottetown Airport
Yukon
Whitehorse - Whitehorse International Airport
Mexico
Mexico City - Mexico City International Airport
Monterrey - General Mariano Escobedo International Airport
United States
Boston - Boston Logan International Airport
Chicago - Chicago Midway International Airport
Dallas/Fort Worth - Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
Erie - Erie International Airport
Fort Lauderdale - Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport
Honolulu - Daniel K. Inouye International Airport
Las Vegas - Harry Reid International Airport
Los Angeles - Los Angeles International Airport
Miami - Miami International Airport
New York City
John F. Kennedy International Airport
LaGuardia Airport
Orlando - Orlando International Airport
San Diego - San Diego International Airport
San Francisco - San Francisco International Airport
Seattle/Tacoma - Seattle–Tacoma International Airport
Washington, D.C. - Washington Dulles International Airport
Oceania
Sydney - Sydney Airport
Nadi - Nadi International Airport
Auckland - Auckland Airport
South America
Buenos Aires - Ministro Pistarini International Airport
Rio de Janeiro - Rio de Janeiro/Galeão International Airport
São Paulo - São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport
Santiago - Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport
Lima - Jorge Chavez International Airport
Livery
Upon its founding in 1987, Canadian Airlines revealed its new livery using the colours light grey, dark grey, navy blue, and red. The paint scheme was an adaptation of the recently introduced livery from predecessor Canadian Pacific Airlines. The lower half of the aircraft's body was navy blue, topped with light grey and red stripes, while the tail was blue, with approximately one third taken up by the carrier's new logo. The new Canadian Airlines logo was a combination of Canadian Pacific's five grey stripes, representing the five continents served by the carrier. Over these stripes was a thick, bright red chevron. The chevron was a simplification of the Pacific Western Airlines logo. The chevron was placed over the stripes, which then represented "Wings over 5 continents". It was also an ingenious and subtle way to represent the takeover of CP by PWA. The same logo, in a square form, became a clever alternative to a true bilingual name on the fuselage replacing the French "e", and the third "a" in English (Canadian/).
Canadian adopted a short-lived new livery in January 1999, less than a year before the airline was merged into Air Canada. The livery, known as "Proud Wings", featured a large Canada goose painted at the tail of the aircraft and the airline's name in a new Celeste font. This new font included a new chevron character, to again replace the French "e", and third "a" in English (Canadian/). The new livery, however, came so late that most of the fleet still retained the existing chevron livery by the time of the merger. Until the merger process with Air Canada was completed in 2001, most Canadian aircraft featured a transition livery with an Air Canada maple leaf on the tail while retaining the name "Canadian" on the sides.
Fleet
When Canadian Airlines International was acquired by Air Canada in 2001, its fleet contained these aircraft:
Historical Fleet
Airbus A310-300 (from Wardair, five aircraft sold to Canadian Forces in 1992 and the rest sold to other airlines in the 1990s; replaced by Boeing 767-300ER)
Airbus A320-200
Boeing 737-200, 200-ELR and 200-Combi
Boeing 737-300 (leased only by CP Air at the time of merger, returned to lessor in the late 1980s)
Boeing 767-300ER
Boeing 747-400
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 (Operated by CP Air. Leased from United Airlines, returned in 1987)
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30
Regional Fleet
Canadian Airlines operated a diverse fleet of turboprops and regional jets through a system of partnerships and codesharing agreements with various regional airlines, some of which later merged to form Canadian Regional Airlines:
Turboprops
de Havilland Canada DHC-8 (-100 and -300, operated by Time Air and Air Atlantic)
de Havilland Canada DHC-7 (operated by Time Air)
de Havilland Canada DHC-6 (operated by Calm Air)
Short 360 (operated by Time Air and Pacific Coastal Airlines)
Beechcraft 1900C (operated by Air Georgian as Ontario Regional and Frontier Air Service as Canadian Frontier)
Beechcraft 1900D (operated by Air Georgian as Ontario Regional)
Beechcraft 99 (operated by Pacific Coastal Airlines)
Beechcraft King Air 100 (operated by Frontier Air Service)
Beechcraft King Air 200 (operated by Pacific Coastal Airlines)
Grumman G-21 Goose (operated by Pacific Coastal Airlines)
Saab 340 (operated by Calm Air)
Hawker Siddeley HS 748 (operated by Calm Air)
British Aerospace Jetstream 31 (operated by Ontario Express)
British Aerospace Jetstream 41 (operated by Air Atlantic)
Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante (operated by Air Alma)
Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia (operated by Ontario Express, operated by Air Alma as Air Quebec/Metro)
ATR-42 (operated by Ontario Express, later transferred to Inter-Canadien)
Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner (operated by Inter-Canadien)
Convair 340 (operated by Inter-Canadien)
Convair 580 (operated by Time Air and Inter-Canadien)
Convair 640 (operated by Time Air)
Jets
British Aerospace 146 (-200, operated by Air Atlantic)
Fokker F28 (-1000, operated by Time Air, Inter-Canadien, and Canadian North)
Fokker 100 (operated by Inter-Canadien)
In-flight services
Canadian Airlines offered three classes:
First Class (F)
Business Class (J)
Canadian Class (Y)
referred to as Economy Class on turboprop aircraft
First Class was available on flights using wide body jets and Business Classes on flights not using regional jets or turboprop aircraft.
In 1987, Canadian Airlines banned smoking on all domestic flights.
Food
Food from flights within Canada were provided by LSG Sky Chefs and all other flights by local contractors.
Maintenance
Maintenance was provided by in-house operations during the existence of the airlines. Aircraft would be serviced by other airlines at airports without CA operations.
Ground handling
Ground handling was provided by in-house operations during the existence of the airlines. Aircraft baggage would be handled by in-house operations and the interior cleaning and lav and potable service, carpet replacement, seat back and seat covered replacement was handled by Canadian Airlines Cleaning department at airports within CA operations.
Entertainment
Most international and medium haul flights provided both video and audio entertainment. Short haul flights provided audio entertainment only.
Newspapers and magazines
Newspapers provided in-flight on most aircraft:
Canadian – the official in-flight magazine of Canadian Airlines
newspapers – The Globe and Mail, USA Today
magazines – Maclean's
Lounges
Canadian lounges were called Empress Lounge and were located at several airports in Canada and abroad:
Calgary International Airport, Calgary, Alberta
Blatchford Field, Edmonton, Alberta
Edmonton International Airport, Edmonton, Alberta
Robert L. Stanfield Airport, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Dorval Airport, Montréal, Quebec
Mirabel Airport, Montréal, Quebec
Macdonald-Cartier International Airport, Ottawa–Gatineau
San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco, California, United States
Toronto Pearson International Airport Terminal 3, Ontario
Vancouver International Airport, British Columbia
Ezeiza Airport, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Benito Juárez International Airport, Mexico City, Mexico
Galeão Airport, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Guarulhos Airport, São Paulo, Brazil
Don Muang Airport Terminal 2, Bangkok, Thailand
Beijing Capital International Airport, Beijing, China
Kai Tak Airport, British Hong Kong
Chek Lap Kok Airport, Hong Kong
Komaki Airport, Nagoya, Japan
Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei, Taiwan
Narita Airport, Tokyo, Japan
Auckland Airport, Auckland, New Zealand
Kingsford Smith Airport, Sydney, Australia
Frankfurt Airport, Frankfurt, Germany
Heathrow Airport, London, England, United Kingdom
Malpensa Airport, Milan, Italy
Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France
Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport, Rome, Italy
Subsidiaries
Canadian Airlines' domestic network was broken down into five divisions:
Canadian Partner served Ontario and Canadian Partner was Ontario Express.
Canadian Regional Airlines, which served 69 destinations in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, the Northwest Territories, Ontario, and the United States. Canadian Regional was 100 percent owned by Canadian Airlines.
Calm Air which served 27 destinations in Manitoba, northwestern Ontario, and the Northwest Territories. Calm Air was 45 percent owned by Canadian Regional and continues to operate under separate management.
Inter-Canadien served Ottawa, Toronto, Labrador, and 26 destinations throughout Quebec. Inter-Canadien was 100 percent owned by Canadian Regional.
Air Atlantic, a regional partner of Canadian Airlines, served 16 destinations throughout the Atlantic provinces, Quebec, Ontario, and the United States.
Canadian North was a division of Canadian Airlines created to serve the northern regions. Canadian North had a network of 10 destinations that expanded from its southern bases of Edmonton and Winnipeg. Canadian North also had a commercial agreement with Aklak Air, an Inuit-owned and operated airline in the Northwest Territories. Canadian North was sold in 1998 to Norterra and continues to operate as an independent airline.
In addition to flight providers, Canadian Airlines operated the largest tour operator in Canada called Canadian Holidays and the Canadian Getaways program. The operator flew to destinations which included destinations throughout North and South America. Their freight operation, Canadian Air Cargo, provided general air cargo services in Canada and the United States.
Media appearances
In 1994, the Canadian Children's show Mighty Machines filmed one of their episodes (Mighty Machines at the Airport) at Toronto Pearson International Airport, starring a couple of Canadian Airlines jets (a McDonnell Douglas DC-10, a Boeing 737-200 and an Airbus A320) and several other of the carrier's vehicles.
In the 1996 film, Homeward Bound 2: Lost in San Francisco the family is flying to Canada on Canadian Airlines when the pets escape. The pets then chase after the Canadian Airlines jet and sit on the runway as the Canadian 737 takes off over their heads. During this scene many other Canadian Airlines planes are visible. The scene, while supposed to be at San Francisco International Airport, was actually filmed at the Abbotsford International Airport in Abbotsford, British Columbia.
Accidents and incidents
No fatalities occurred on Canadian Airlines International flights. There were only two major incidents:
On October 19, 1995, Canadian Airlines International Flight 17 rejected takeoff due to compressor stall and subsequently over-ran the end of the runway at Vancouver International Airport.
On September 6, 1997, Canadian Airlines International Flight 30 aborted takeoff after experiencing an engine fire at Beijing Capital International Airport.
See also
List of defunct airlines of Canada
References
Further reading
External links
Official website archived at the Wayback Machine
Defunct airlines of Canada
Defunct companies of Alberta
Air Canada
Airlines established in 1987
Airlines disestablished in 2001
Former Oneworld members
1987 establishments in Alberta
2001 disestablishments in Alberta
Canadian companies established in 1987
Canadian companies disestablished in 2001